hello old age.....

ok.....last christmas i was officially the grinch!

my only decoration was a six inch metal tree on the mantel.

after being the ultimate couch potato today...

as i watched all the hgtv christmas specials...

i was inspired enough to pull out some of my decorations

and start transforming the house into a winter wonderland.

the good news is....i've dusted places in my house that

haven't seen a dust rag in a while...the bad news...

it looks like a bomb went off at the north pole in here...

good grief.......there's STUFF every where...

and i've run out of steam.........

LOL....hello old age!

it's turkey day......

i hope each and everyone one of you have

a safe and happy thanksgiving....

bring on the turkey!

three muses #78 - shoes challenge

the theme for the challenge at the three muses this week is shoes....this piece started as "the old
woman in the shoe" kinda thing but somehow
morphed into....well...this!

(the moon, arms, and bird feet images are clipped from old magazines; all other images are my creations and images)

...a pain in my heart

twenty five years today...

you didn't make your 8 seconds cowboy

that ole winged horse threw ya....

one last time....

no brushing yourself off...

grinning that grin...

no coming home again....

i miss you...my space cowboy

sending hugs and kisses on the wind......

sometimes.........

i'm there..........

thank you.......

THANK YOU.........

sigh..........

wow.....it's really getting hard to take pictures inside since it gets

dark so early....these sheets are actually WHITE and red...but i

do kinda like this color combo!darkness falling early heralds the time to bring out the flannel sheets!

sigh.........

i love flannel......

and fall...

and wrapping up in a blanket on the porch...

under a kzillion stars...

on a crisp night....

just letting the worries of the day...

melt away...

ummmmm...

finally feels like fall....

in her footsteps.....

my youngest daughter just graduated from cosmetology school

....52 years after her grandmother.

i'm making her a shadow box with my mothers diploma...

a transparency of my mother over the diploma...

her scissors...comb... a couple of clips

that she used when she was a beautician.

i think she would have liked that her granddaughter

is following in her footsteps....

family

"other things may change us...

but we start...

and end...

with

family..."

~anthony brandt

happy halloween!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy halloween!

Candy...Candy...Candy....!

(old metal alpha lettering by paula kesselring designs)

when i was in your heart....

once upon a time.......

time flies.......

time flies.........it sure does!

my dad's birthday is rolling around again next week.

i'll use this little ditty to make his birthday card...

and yes........

that handsome fella is my dad...

she who must be obeyed......

still playing...........

how sweet it is.......

i have just been determined to learn how to collage digitally. i'll have to say it's a whole lot easier way to collage than the ol' cut and paste deal..... photographing and making my own elements has sparked a multitude of creative ideas.....i'm loving it!

digital collage.........

sweet!

rediscovering jody.....

"some things you can't find out...

but you will never know you can't

by guessing and supposing...

no...you have to be patient

and go on experimenting

until you find out that...

you can't find out.

and it is delightful

to have it that way...

it makes the world so

interesting."

~Mark Twain, Eve's Diary

if there is one thing that i do know...it's that i am where i am because of decisions that i have made. it appears i've come full circle in my life...after many detours off the path i'm returning to myself....welcome back jody...i've missed you...

love pours from heaven....

perhaps they are not the stars

but rather openings in

heaven where the love of

our lost ones pours through

and shines down upon us

to let us know they are

happy.

~ eskimo folklore

basking in the glow of love from above..........

hello my space cowboy......

...i would pick more daisies

If I Had My Life To Live Over

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live
sensibly and sanely hour after hour,
day after day.

Oh, I've had my moments,
And if I had it to do over again,
I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those people who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

Nadine Stair,
85 years old.

an insatiable thief.....

"age is an insatiable thief.

it steals the pleasures of your youth...

then locks you inside your own body

with your desires

still

glowing...."

~james lee burke

the glass rainbow

mr. burke....

truer words were never spoken.....

reminiscing....

“life: a cycle.

a series of events…

meetings…and departures.

friends discovered…

others lost.

precious time wastes away.

big droplet tears

are shed

for yesterday…

but are dried

in time for tomorrow…

until all that remain

are foggy…

broken

memories…

of a happy

yesteryear.”

~daniela gallo

yesteryear is much on my mind lately

a byproduct of aging...

probably

so many memories...

regrets...

loves...

playing...

like an old 8mm film...

scratching...

and popping...

behind closed eyes...

as i sit

quietly

sipping wine...

reminiscing....

wassail and pumpkins....

i woke up this morning to a beautiful...crisp...fall like day....drove up to windy hill orchard and bought some wassail. evidently... before the shelves held the bottles of cider and wassail they were the proud nesting place of one 'henny penny' cause we had to keep shooing her away as i made my purchase. maybe she was the welcoming hen....or just trying to help me make up my mind between the cider and wassail....

on the drive to the orchard i passed our local produce stand and.........PUMPKINS! it sooooo feels like fall today. after a lunch of carolina barbeque and potato salad i'm retiring to the couch with a wonderful smelling cup of joe (does anything smell better than a fresh cup of coffee...organic peruvian...YUM) to watch a christmas movie i found on the dvr....that's right...CHRISTMAS....and last night i worked in my studio on some halloween goodies.....

can you tell this is my FAVORITE time of the year?